Saint Paternian

Paternian or Paternianus (Italian: San Paterniano) is the name of an Italian saint. A native of Fermo who escaped to the mountains during the persecutions of Christians by Diocletian, he was then appointed bishop of Fano by Pope Sylvester I.[1][2]

Saint Paternian
Saint Paternian on the coat-of-arms of Paternion.
Born~275 AD?
Fano?
DiedNovember 13, ~360 AD? 470 AD?
Fano?
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrineFano
FeastJuly 12; November 13; November 23
PatronageCervia; Fano

(Paternian is often confused with Parthenian (Parteniano), a bishop of Bologna, also commemorated on July 12.)[3]

Life

Historical details about Paternian are scarce. The Vita Sancti Paterniani can be found in a codex of the 12th century, though it dates earlier, and was written by a monk of the 10th or 11th century. But it is legendary and not reliable.

Paternian was born at Fano around 275 AD.[4] An angel told him in a vision to escape this city and hide out in a deserted place near the Metauro River. He became a hermit and the abbot of a monastery.[5] Later, when the persecution of Christians stopped, the citizens of Fano demanded that he become their bishop. Paternian governed the city for many years. He died on November 13, around 360 AD. Miracles were reported at his tomb and his cult spread rapidly.[4]

Veneration

According to one legend, the inhabitants of Fano competed with those of Cervia for the body of the saint. Cervia would be left with a finger, while Fano would possess the rest of the saint's relics.[6]

His cult spread across Marche, Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, and Dalmatia. In the area known as the Camminate di Fano, there is a cave known as the Grotta di San Paterniano, which is said to have been his refuge during the Diocletian persecution.

The Austrian town of Paternion takes its name from him. The name appears in documents for the first time in 1296, and its origin is derived from the fact that the area lay under the influence of the patriarchate of Aquileia.[7]

There was an old proverb from Romagna that ran: "Par San Paternian e' trema la coda a e' can."[6] ("On St. Paternian's day, the dog's tail wags"). This Cervian proverb refers to the fact that the cold began to be felt around the saint’s feast day.[6]

References
  • Ceccarelli, Giuseppe (2005). I Vescovi delle Diocesi di Fano, Fossombrone, Cagli e Pergola - Cronotassi. Fano: Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Fano. p. 42.
  • Mingardi, Alessandra (1999). Le Feste di Cervia. Ravenna: Longo Editore. p. 81.

Notes
  1. http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1123.shtml#pate
  2. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Fano" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. Sanctity Pictured: The Art of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders in Renaissance Italy, (Trinita Kennedy,ed.) Philip Wilson Publishers, 2014 ISBN 9781781300268 p. 158, n.7]
  4. Jacopini, P. Giustino. "San Paterniano", Santi e Beati, June 19, 2002
  5. Francesco Lanzoni points out that there were neither hermitages nor monasteries in Italy in the first half of the 4th century. Lanzoni, Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604) (Faenza: F. Lega, 1927), p. 498: "nella prima metà del iv secolo non vi erano in Italia né monaci né cenobi."
  6. Riti e Credenze: San Paterniano 13 novembre - Cervia Turismo Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Chronik - Die Gemeinde - Gemeinde Paternion". www.paternion.gv.at. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
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